After the rumours of an early end to the government and a “national government” (you know what that is a euphemism for) have been put to bed, there is a hustle right now for positions in the caretaker setup. Though the prime ministerial slot is always going to be attractive, a lot of eyes are on the top slot for the Punjab.
Some want something a little more than the short duration of the caretaker setup. Negotiations are already underway for the reserved women’s seats, if not the actual constituency tickets. See this space for how much things will heat up on this front.
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The morale is down at the PTI camp. First, their party leaders had to eat crow when they publicly denied the rumours of their leader’s nuptials, only to retract the denials (sort of) and say that it was a marriage proposal that had been sent, not marriage itself. Perhaps they should have been taken into confidence beforehand?
Then, there is the issue of the marriage itself. The idea of the party leader’s marriage with a peerni doesn’t sit well with the party’s modern, urban ladies. It’s his own business, you might argue, why do these women have to be so shallow and judgemental. Well, that’s the PTI’s support base for you. Moreover, across the Punjab, the more salt of the earth, meat-and-potato followers are a little more incensed than the aforementioned group, given how much reverence they give to the peer-mureed relationship.
To add insult to injury, the party’s poor show in their rally in Lahore, where the PPP, of all parties, provided much more manpower, was a cut to the quick.
